Implantable real-time oximeter to determine potential strokes and post-traumatic brain-injury complications

Abstract

A first embodiment of the implantable real-time oximeter of the present invention is attached around a blood vessel near the site of a likely stroke to monitor large and medium size cerebral arteries. Another embodiment of the implantable real-time oximeter can be passed within cerebral blood vessels to monitor the oxygenation status of the surrounding cerebral tissues. When used within cerebral blood vessels, the emitter and detector are coplanar and contained in a small area, for example, 50 - 120 μm.

We claim: 
     
       1. An implantable extravascular pulse oximetry probe comprising:
 a red light emitter and an infrared light emitter configured in a semicircular shape and electrically coupled to an emitter driver circuit; 
 a photo receiving sensor configured in a semicircular shape and optically coupled via fiber optics to a photo diode; 
 the photo diode providing an electrical signal indicative of blood oxygen saturation values and pulse distention values; 
 an attachment configured as a cylindrically shaped tube having a longitudinal opening for cylindrically attaching the red light emitter and the infrared light emitter and the photo receiving sensor around a blood vessel such that the attachment embraces the blood vessel and a transmission optical path is created through the blood vessel from the light emitters to the photo receiving sensor once implanted and placed on the blood vessel. 
 
     
     
       2. The probe of  claim 1 , further comprising cushions for separating the emitter from the detector. 
     
     
       3. The probe of  claim 1 , further comprising a covering around the red light emitter and the infrared light emitter and the photo receiving sensor. 
     
     
       4. The probe of  claim 3 , further comprising a hook attached to the cover for suturing the probe to tissue. 
     
     
       5. The probe of  claim 1 , wherein the red light emitter and the infrared light emitter and the photo receiving sensor are concave.